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LPR ready to hold referendum any day when it is safe — Lugansk leader

Leonid Pasechnik stressed that the allied forces liberating the Donbass, "bring the date of the referendum closer step by step"

LUGANSK, September 9. /TASS/. The people of the Lugansk People’s Republic will be ready to take part in a referendum on accession to Russia any day when it will be safe, LPR leader Leonid Pasechnik told TASS on Friday.

"The people have been waiting for a referendum on joining Russia for more than eight years and they are ready to take part in it on November 4 - National Unity Day - both earlier or later, and on any other date. Even on December 31 we will go and vote," he said.

Pasechnik stressed that holding a referendum would be possible only under conditions that were as safe as possible for the population. For now, they are not in place yet due to Ukrainian bombardments.

"Enemy shells are still flying into a number of regions of our country. We have no right to endanger our people," he said.

He stressed that the allied forces liberating the Donbass, "bring the date of the referendum closer step by step."

"I sincerely believe that already this year we, together with our neighbors in the DPR, will come to the polls and say: "Yes, Russia!" he said.

On Wednesday, the secretary of the United Russia party’s General Council, Andrei Turchak, said that it would be appropriate to hold a vote in Donbass and the liberated territories on National Unity Day. LPR People’s Council Speaker Denis Miroshnichenko, while commenting on Turchak's proposal, told TASS that holding a referendum in the LPR republic on November 4 would certainly be symbolic, but it was far more important to ensure safety.

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